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Making your child’s money last over the summer holidays

With the summer holidays starting for some children in the UK, we’re looking at the really important topic of making your children’s money last for the duration. Some children will continue to be given their weekly allowance, whereas some children may receive a lump sum to last them for the summer. Some children will also find an increase in chores and will also be restricted to daily spend limits. Either way, we’re going to discuss the issues, so that you can decide what is best for your family.

Allowance - Should you raise it?

Throughout the school year, your child has far less opportunity to spend their money as they are preoccupied with school. Whereas in the summer holidays, your child has far more free time and desire to spend money. Therefore, an allowance that works perfectly in the school year may not be as well suited for the summer holiday’s. Having said this, you may wish to keep the allowance the same and teach your children the value of budgeting their money over the week, and potentially saving it. Have you also thought about giving your children a larger monthly payment, for them to budget over the weeks - stressing the importance of budgeting and potentially saving it for more important dates in the summer calendar?

Should you increase the amount of Tasks/Chores?

As your child’s spending will inevitably go up this summer, it could be a good idea to give them the option to earn more money around the house. With all their free time surely they’d be happy to spend a bit longer offering a helping hand with anything you may need doing? However it could be important to keep consistency with your chores as some children may get used to the amount of money on a weekly basis, so it is good to keep them in that routine.

Should you limit spending?

Over the summer you may be worried about your child spending excessively. One of the great features of goHenry is the ‘Daily Spend Limits’. It could be a good idea to set the daily spend limits so that the weekly allowance is budgeted and managed via the limits. For example, if you set a £20 weekly allowance, you could have a £2.85 daily spend limit to make sure that the £20 lasts for the week. If there is something over the £2.85 that they wish to buy, then you could just turn the limits off for however long you need.

We know all families work differently, but hopefully these ideas will help you figure out what works well for you. We hope your children have the best summer yet, managing and spending their money in a safe and responsible way!

goHenry, a unique earning, saving and spending solution. Perfect for parents with children from 8-18.